Prokopenko was born in Zhdanov,
Ukrainian SSR, now known as
Mariupol, Ukraine. In 1975, he graduated from the
Odessa State Pedagogical Institute of Ushynsky and later the
Moscow Higher School of Coaches. Prokopenko was the first manager of the
Ukraine national team since
dissolution of the Soviet Union. He also authored
Flexibility, Strength, Endurance, a popular book on stretching. Prokopenko was elected to the
Ukrainian parliament for the
Party of Regions as no.45 on their election list in the
2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election. Prokopenko died from a fall in
Odesa. He was 62 years old. ==Managerial statistics==